Mabton's success with AP program to be detailed at national meeting

MABTON - The Mabton Jr./Sr. High School teaching staff's unique approach to offering Mabton's college bound students upper level courses will be shared with other small schools at the National College Board's Western Regional Small Schools Conference to be held in San Jose, Calif. later this week.

"We are one of only two small school districts being asked to share our advanced placement success story at the small schools summit," said Mabton School District Superintendent Kevin Chase. He said the College Board is responsible for the development of the PSAT and SAT examinations used by colleges to rank students seeking college entrance.

He said the Mabton Jr./Sr. High School staff, led by English teacher Tamara Steen, has been working for the past several years to create a method of offering advanced studies to more of its students. In the process, the staff has begun to reach down to the junior high grades to create a variety of approaches to attract the imagination of those students wishing to excel.

Steen will explain how the small school is now able to offer its juniors and seniors college- level English classes. Steen will also explain how the process of co-mingling the juniors and seniors in a two-year advance placement plan is being adapted at the middle school level.

She said work is now being done to create advanced programs for math and science through the use of the district's summer academy program. She said the summer academy program gives those students who are showing potential for advanced learning a six-week enhanced course of study.

"We are having exciting results with this approach and our students are becoming very competitive about being in the AP programs," Steen said.

Attending the conference to be held April 29 and 30 will be Steen, Chase, Mabton High School Principal Keith Morris and Bob Thomas, high school counselor